Evil Guardian
by VTPM
Summary: I'm writing this from a prompt I found on tumblr. The prompt was 'if Ray was a Number hunter and 96 was his Astral'.
1. Chapter 1

Ray's POV

I laid on my bed, bored out of my mind. It was Sunday, which meant no school, and both my parents were at work. I didn't have anywhere special to go or places to be. I (Luckily) didn't even have homework to do. I pulled out my duel gazer and dialed my friend's number in. After a few rings, a blue-haired boy picked up.

"What's up Ray?" Steven asked.

"Nothing, that's why I called you. Think you can convince your parents to let you go to the park? I'm dying from boredom." I replied.

"Hang on, I'll ask."

There was a moment of silence, then Steven came back on. "Yeah, my parents said it's fine."

"Great! See you there in 5!" I said and hung up. I threw on my light blue hoodie and ran out the door towards the park.

Steven was my best friend and probably my only real friend.

I got to the park a minute before him. When he stopped next to me I told him, "You're late."

"Not my fault you sprinted the whole way and I walked like a normal person." He retorted.

I gave him a pout face. "Whatever. What do you wanna do?" I asked.

"I don't know. You're the one who called me. I thought you already knew that." Steven replied.

"Uh, well you guessed wrong..." I told him.

He sighed and shook his head. "Would it have killed you to tell me that? I could have brought a football or something."

I smiled nervously. "Sorry..."

Steven sighed. "It's fine. Come on, maybe the basketball court will be empty."

"But I don't like basketball!" I complained.

"Should have thought of that before you didn't tell me you weren't bringing anything."  
Steven had always been a sports fan. Basketball was his favorite sport and I knew he was going to try out for the team next year. But it still didn't make me like basketball  
any more. I wasn't much of a sports person, even though Steven had bugged me about joining the basketball team with him.

Sighing, I reluctantly followed him over to the court, which, sadly for me, was empty.

"Alright! Let's get started." Steven said, tossing me the orange ball.

"Do I have to?" I whined.

"Yep! Now hurry up and throw it!" Steven urged.

I was starting to think I'd been better off staying home.

I started dribbling the ball and moved forward, toward the basket. When I got near the hoop, I went to shoot, but was shocked when the ball was suddenly knocked from my hand.

I couldn't even move to stop him. He was already dunking the ball into the hoop. He came back to me, dribbling it. "Wow, you have slow reflexes." He said.

"Well, sorry for not being born a star athlete like you." I said, jokingly.

Steven laughed a little. "Yeah, you're far from being an athlete."

"Hey! You don't need to rub it in!" I pouted.

"Okay, you're right. That was uncalled for." He said.

"Can't we duel instead? You know I don't like sports." I begged.

Steven sighed. "Fine. But you know I'll beat you, right?"

I sniffed indignantly. "You don't know that."

"Yeah, I do. I beat you every time." He pointed out.

It was true. Steven was better at everything than me. I really wanted to be a good duelist, but I could never remember to use abilities or switch what position my monsters were in. Put simply, I sucked.

But I was willing to do anything to get out of basketball.

"Well, I'm not gonna get better unless I practice. So, come on! Please?" I asked.

"Fine." He said, giving in.

~Time Skip To End Of Duel~

"Told ya I'd win." Steven said, helping me to my feet.

"Yeah, so?" I said, standing.

"And you're just as terrible as ever." He replied, grinning.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better. It's so helping." I retorted. It was already bad enough I was this terrible. I really didn't need someone to rub it in.

Steven looked at his watch. "Oh, jeez. Sorry, I have to go. My parents told me not to stay out too late. See ya at school!" He said, running off.

I sighed and started walking back home.

It wasn't fair. I tried and tried, but I could never be good at anything. Not even dueling. It wasn't that my deck was bad, I just could never remember to activate my effects, traps and spells. Plus I always forget to check my monsters' attack before putting them on the field. Pretty much I failed at all the basics.

When I made it home, my parents still weren't off work, so I turned on the television and started flipping through the channels. I stopped when I reached the duel channel. I really did envy the champions that were always being interviewed.  
 _  
Maybe if I keep practicing, I'll get to be a pro too._ I thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Ray's POV

At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I know, my dad's shaking me awake and I'm still on the couch.

"Hey, you need to get up. It's dinner time." He said.  
 _  
Wow, I slept that long? It's already dinner?_ I thought, getting up and going to the kitchen.

Dinner was just like any other time, fairly quiet with my dad trying to strike up conversation.

My mom didn't say much, which isn't weird. She hardly ever says much of anything.

I at least was able to talk to my dad about going to the park. My parents weren't strict at all. They didn't mind if I left the house when they weren't around, though my dad didn't recommend it.

After dinner, I went up to my room and started randomly doodling on a piece of paper, drawing nothing in particular.

After a while, I became aware of my parents' voices getting louder. I knew they must be arguing again. It always made me nervous when I heard them yelling at each other.

That's when I heard them say one specific word that grabbed my attention.

Divorce.

I shuddered. They weren't actually considering it, were they?

I hoped not.

I tried not to listen too much. I knew it wouldn't do any good, it would only cause me pain. After all, if they were thinking of divorcing, how could I stop them? My mom didn't  
really listen to me. She never seemed to care about me much...She never had. I don't know what I did for her to not care about me. Maybe it was because of how many times I've failed, because I've never done anything right.

It wouldn't surprise me if that was the reason. Only Steven and my dad have ever seen through my mistakes.

I forced myself to close my eyes and not think about them arguing.

Eventually, I felt myself drift to sleep, hoping things would be better in the morning...


	3. Chapter 3

Ray's POV  
~One Year Later~

Today the divorce became official. It seems despite my hoping they'd work it out, they hadn't. I was in my room again, randomly drawing nothing again. I tended to do that whenever I was bored.

Well, I suppose there was some good news. Steven had made it on the basketball team, just like I figured he would. I was really happy for him. After all, I knew it was his dream to get on the team and he hadn't wanted anything else in the world more.

That's when I heard my dad calling me from downstairs.

That was another piece of good news. My father had got to keep me. My mom hadn't even bothered asking for visitation rights. Not that it surprises me.

I went downstairs to see what he wanted.

I found him in the living room, waiting for me.

"Yeah?" I asked when I stepped in the room.

"Sit down for a second, would you?" My dad said, patting the couch next to him.

I sat down hesitantly and fidgeted a little. I knew he was going to talk to me about the divorce. I really didn't want to talk about it, but I stayed quiet and didn't complain.

"I know this has been a difficult for you." He started. I shifted uncomfortably again. "I know you don't want to talk about it, so I'll make this quick." He picked something up off the table beside him that was wrapped in a piece of cloth. "I want you to have this as a bit of a good luck charm."

"What is it?" I asked, taking the small bundle from him.

He smiled. "Open it and see."

I carefully unwrapped it and peeked inside, as if I thought it was a bomb.

I opened the bundle the rest of the way and held up what it had contained. "A necklace?" I asked.

It was a black key with a green gem at the top. It was decorated with red lines and the top part was heart-shaped.

"Like I said, it's just a good luck charm. My father gave it to me when I was little, but I never really wore it. I hope you like it."

I nodded and slipped it on my neck. "Yeah, it's cool."

My dad smiled and patted my back, then got up and left the room.

I stared at the key for a few seconds, then went back to my room to draw some more before dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

Ray's POV

I was in my room, getting ready to go to bed, but I stopped and fiddled with the key a little.

Something about it seemed really interesting, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Shrugging, I let it fall back against my chest and pulled the covers over my body.

It started off like any normal time of going to sleep, but that quickly changed.

When I opened my eyes to the dream world, I found myself staring at a large, dark, frightening door with jagged teeth and gleaming eyes.

And that's when things got really creepy.

It started _talking_.

"You have the key to a great power." It rumbled. "Unlock the door and you will receive that power."

I found myself thinking that over. _What kind of power does it mean?_

"But beware." It continued, "Great power comes great responsibility. You will lose that which is most valuable."

That made me have even more doubt. I didn't want to risk losing anything valuable. Curiosity as to what power it was offering still pulsed through my mind, and I was about to back away, when the key suddenly started glowing with red light.

"What's happening?" I gasped, my voice shaking a little.

"It seems fate is calling to you..." The door said.  
 _  
Fate? Does that mean I have no choice?_ I wondered.

I still had no idea what to do. I didn't really didn't want to lose anything. But if it's fate...

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it, but it didn't make anything clearer.

The red glowing from the key became brighter and I found myself staring into the light, despite how bright it was.

As if in a trance, I started walking towards the door.

My mind was screaming at me to run away, but I couldn't make myself listen.

Before I knew it, I was standing 2 feet away from the door, gripping the key in my right hand. I was able to tear my gaze away from the door long enough to see my hand was visibly shaking.

Then, still mentally screaming I should be running right then, I placed the key into the lock and turned it.

Then, I was sent flying backwards in a fiery explosion...


	5. Chapter 5

Ray's POV

I sat bolt-upright in my bed, panting and shaking from the nightmare.

I looked at the clock and realized it was morning already. Stretching, I climbed out of bed and put my school uniform on.  
 _  
That was a weird dream.._. I thought as I walked downstairs to get breakfast.

My dad was already up and was reading the newspaper while drinking his coffee.

I sat at the table and poured myself some cereal, then quickly gulped it down.

When I finished, I called out 'bye and ran out the door, grabbing my bag in the process.

I sprinted all the way to my school, noticing that Steven wasn't waiting for me like he usually did.

That day went by almost sickeningly slow and I found myself constantly thinking back to the dream from last night.

When school was finally over, I found Steven by his locker.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" I asked him.

"I was with my friends from basketball." He replied. "Anyways, I have to go. I have practice today." With that, he turned and walked away, walking to a group of boys who were also on the team.

I sighed and left, heading home. _I guess I'm walking home alone today..._. I thought to myself.

When I finally did get home, I trudged upstairs and slumped in the chair next to my desk to do homework.

I grabbed the necklace my dad gave me and as soon as I touched it, a sudden bright light emitted from the green gem in the middle of the key.

Dark Mist's POV

The other night had been very odd.  
 _  
Something_ had happened, though I wasn't really sure _what_.

I spent a good amount of time contemplating it but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.

After quite a while, something _else_ happened, something that had never happened before.

An escape from the prison I was in had opened.

Of course, as soon as the possibility was given I quickly took it, knowing well that it could be a trap. But it wasn't. I had no trouble at all getting out.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting to see when I got out, but it certainly wasn't the young, orange-haired boy and small room I was greeted with.

He took a few seconds to realize I was there, dazed by the light that was fading from pendant around his neck.  
 _  
That's where I was trapped...?_ I thought, knowing the light was coming because of my escape.

"W-Who are you?" He asked, uncertainty in his voice and possibly even slight fear.

Smirking at the thought of him fearing me, I replied in my usual cocky manner. "I am Number 96 Dark Mist!"

He seemed to relax slightly, but still looked freaked out. "That's a really long name. Do you have like a first name or something I could call you?" He asked.

I facepalmed. _Was this guy serious?_ "Just call me Dark Mist." I mumbled.

"Okay. By the way, I'm Ray. Nice to meet you!" He replied.

This guy really had to be some kind of joke. He didn't seemed nearly as disturbed at my sudden appearance and the fact that I'm an alien as he should be.

"Where'd you come from anyway?" He continued with another question.

"From the key, dim-wit." I said sarcastically, not sure of a better explanation and thought the answer would be for the most part obvious anyways.

"Really? Wow, that's cool!" Ray exclaimed, looking at the necklace again.  
 _  
This guy really is dense, isn't he?_ I thought, shaking my head.


End file.
